The Crystal's Destiny Remake
by solar-sun
Summary: ...Where light touches shadows are created. This is a rewrite of my Crystal's Destiny story. It's different from the original in many ways.
1. Prologe

I reread my old "Crystal's Destany" story and I still love the idea..though I hated where it went. So I have decided to rewrite it. It probably won't be the same. Somethings though I shall keep pretty similar. Though if you did read the original a few key things will change. I'll be using the Japanese names from now and out on any new fan fiction I start to write on sailor moon. If you haven't seen Sailormoon (the anime) unedited in it's original Japanese with english subtitles I urge you to do so! After I watched all the episodes of Sailormoon (yes all 200 plus movies) that way I lost all love of the english version. The voice acting sucks (especially in S and SuperS) and the fact they made Haruka (Amara or Uranus) and Michiru (Michelle or Neptune) cousins creeps me out.

For any of you worried about my past stories, do not fear. I will not change the names to japanese. This is only on newer stories. Though I once again urge you to watch the anime in Japanese.

The Crystal's Destiny

Chapter 1

Not Normal

_Where ever light touches a shadow is cast._

It was raining, no it was storming. The cascading raindrops hurring to the ground as if they needed to be there. It almost stung her skin as she kneeled there, hunched over, her eyes watching the dark figure in the alleyway drawing nearer to the group of teen girls who seemed to be looking for trouble. The woman could hear bits and peaces of their conversation with the older man in the middle of the group. She didn't have to actually hear what was being said to understand what was going down. The teenagers, whom some of them looked nervous, where trying to buy some illegal substance from the man. The woman hunched over watching them could tell that some of the girls where new to this by the way they kept moving around and glancing in every direction afraid of being caught.

They where gonna be caught alright...

...but not by Serenity's police.

She was going to have to use it again. It hurt everytime she did but her training in anything else couldn't stop the shadow feeding off their trouble. If those girls knew what was only a few yards away from them...Shaking her head she stood up slowly, getting ready to attack. If she could do this without alarming the teens and man, the woman smirked, she'd treat herself to a night on the town, away from this. Closing her eyes she began to search for IT. Forcing IT to the surface feeling the familiar wave of nausa and light surround her. As quickly as she had triggered it the light faded only leaving her and her transformation.

Taking off she landed soundlessly behind the shadow, deeper into the alleyway then she really wanted to be. In transformation she had found she could move almost angelicly, quietly, and gracefully. It was inhuman and she knew it. In her hand formed an odd crystal stick that began to stretch out as she willed it to the length she needed. With quick movements she forced the shadow creature away from the girls and farther in the alleyway, pinning it to a wall as it hissed in her ear. Glancing over toward the girls she saw no one looking toward her, no one freaking from a sound. Smirking she turned quickly letting the creature go for a second then smashing the rod in the back area that she'd consider it's "head" knocking it back on the ground soundlessly but with quick inhuman reflexes it was back up, surrounding her arm...trying to feed off her.

"...shit..." She hissed quietly moving her arms around trying to remove her arm from the dark..the blackness that was the shadow demon. Swinging her other hand around she tossed the rod to it, impailing the shadow, twisting the rod causing the black to wriggle and squrm as if it where in some sorta pain but the woman figured it didn't feel pain..only energy and the lack of. After a few more seconds of it the shadow seemed to disappear, as if it where fog that was retreating from a warm morning. Then and only then did the woman know it had been defeated.

Slowly letting her guard down she looked over at the group, still talking as if nothing had happened only a few yards from them. She wanted to laugh but knew if she did that the drug dealer would attack her.

A wave of nausa almost overcame her senses, causing a hand to fly up to the side of her head. She had a hard time staying in this transformation for very long. Quickly once she regained her barings the woman jumped back up on her post and then away from there.

Landing on a balcony she released the trigger causing her transformation to disappear, leaving only her zapped energy and nausa in it's place. There just had to be a better way of fighting those creatures.

Though her mind didn't linger there long as she thought about the promise she had made herself: A night on the town.

Shaking her head, causing her wavey red locks to fling about her she looked at the time and the door.

A night of dancing was in order.

Chapter One

"I guess princess Serenity is having a ball in a month," A co-worker gossiping about the palace was heard as she sat down in the office break room. "It's her and the Queens birthday then. I guess all the royalty are going to be coming into Tokyo again."

Such idle gossip really didn't make the woman jump and cheer. To her the royal families where just lazy asses hogging up all the power. If they where here to protect Tokyo, like stories of yor, then why the hell where they not destroying those shadow demons! It pissed her off.

Frowning she stood up and walked away from the table without as much as a word spoken to the chatters who just continued on in their conversation like she had never been there to begin with.

The womans name was Sorano Tsukino. She had been living in Crystal Tokyo for about 30 or so years. Once she had lived in the United States, where mind you she had been born, but when she was 7 or so her parents moved them all to Japan and Crystal Tokyo since her father's company had moved him but right after the move and getting their official citizianship both her parents and little sister had been killed in a car accedent while she was at school.

Sure the adoption centers in Japan where the best in the world, some say that it was the Kings idea, but she didn't get adopted and ended up just leaving on her 18th birthday. That was fine for her, Sorano didn't want to deal with her past life anymore. There had been a great effort in her part to try and move on and the adoption center was the last of her obsticals to finally be free of it all.

Many of times Sorano had thought of moving back to America but everytime she thought of that her life would get a bit hectic and there would be no time for idle thoughts like that. Her job kept her busy as a graphic designer. That was most of her hectic life since she didn't date nor party.

Well work and this odd power she found she had not to long ago was her hectic life. It was during an attack of one of those shadow demons upon herself that she triggered it. THATs why she's so pissed at the royals. If they had actually been doing their jobs she wouldn't have this problem and could have a life but who was she to complain. If she really didn't like them she could move to the United States again and be free of at least their faces for a while.

Yawning she found herself back at her desk finishing up a 16 page layout for a manga magazine that had asked her to help out. Her boss and nearly shit himself when he had heard she had been asked to do it...well thats what she had heard around the office, that and the fact that her boss had been trying for YEARS to get that manga magazine to use their designers for layout purposes.

Well at least she had gotten a nice raise in the process. She figured he didn't want her to sell out and go directly to them to work, which she was still slightly tempted to do. Layouts came easy to her, especally the way the head art director wanted them to look. Sorano was pretty sure if she worked for the magazine she'd be paid at least two hundred or more yen then working here. Then again to get to the magazine's main office would require a lot of time and effort while the design agency's office was right down the street from her appartment...so she was a bit lazy.

Lazy when it came to work. When it came to those monsters she couldn't be lazy...not with those lazy royals sitting on their asses watching it all. Sorano was sure that at least one of the nine or so royals had some indication of the attacks but there was no word about it in the newspaper or on the tv or even on the web.

Was she doing THAT good of a job! Sorano killed one or two a day of those creatures and she was sure there where more of them and stronger ones too. It was just logical! Maybe she should give those royals a piece of her mind. A big giant piece of her mind that included her foot in their asses.

She slightly giggled thinking about herself kicking the queen and found it more amusing then she thought humanly possible. Ok so she wasn't a very happy person at all. She also found it hard to forgive people. That was just how she had to grow up.

...and now those royals where having a birthday ball..even with those mosters running around Crystal Tokyo, the supposed safest place in the world!

She'd much rather try and take a thug down in New York.

Reaching over she took a sip of her coffee saving her document quickly and leaning back taking a small break at her desk because of the gossip in the break room. Closing her eyes she leaned back just letting herself calm down from her emotions.

At least in this freakish city she could be 37 and not look a day over 21. That was probably the only reason why she had stayed in Crystal Tokyo after she had turned 18. So she was a little vaine. Very little compared to the senshi of love who was always making up some new make-up product or modeling in nearly nothing. So the venus chick was nearly a goddess...it didn't mean Sorano wanted to see her breasts plastered all over her vision. This week that damn woman was trying to sell some sorta purfume that supposetly was gonna help you find your soul mate.

..soul mate...yeah right...

If everyone had a soul mate then why the hell did all the senshi minus the queen and king have no husbands! Where they all just lesbians?

A frown came upon Sorano's features thinking about it bitterly. She wasn't racist mind you, they all could be lesbians and she really didn't give a damn. It's just the irony of it all. The court of Serenity and the queen and king themselves had been living longer then anyone of the citizans of Crystal Tokyo and yet Sorano had never seen a picture of any of them with a male counterpart that seemed to be sticking around. They had the best chance of anyone of finding their "soul mate" compared to the rest of Tokyo and yet no one seemed to have one!

Wiether or not Sorano liked the senshi and the royals they where always being talked about, always in the papers, always on the news, always on billboards. She couldn't get away from them. Maybe that's why she was always thinking bitterly about them. Cuz they where always taunting her.

Taking a deep breath she leaned toward her computer again deciding to try and forget about it and finish work. Then she could go home and rest a bit before she'd be alerted somehow that another demon was walking about.

All in a days work.

Yawning Sorano was walking down the street trying to get to her appartment in the overcrowded street that was infront of her work and appartment building. With a coffee in one hand and her computer bag in the other she tried to stear clear of the people not wanting to drop either. Glancing toward a store front she noticed some woman trying to sell that new perfume and frowned once again thinking about the senshi again. Sorano just wanted to scream. Where they THAT important anyway! She was the one defeating the monsters!

As she chewed at those thoughts angerly Sorano found herself in front of the store, in front of that woman, and in front of that purfume.

The woman smiled quickly stating that it smelt great and would help her find her soul mate, so claiming the senshi of love.

Backing away Sorano waved her hands lightly trying not to spill her coffee or drop her bag telling the woman she didn't want to try any of it. Nothing that came from the palace interested her in the slightest. That's when someone hit her from behind, probably just rushing through the crowd, causing her to fall forward into the saleswoman and the bottle of perfume!

Both of them fell to the ground in a big hep, causing Sorano to spill her coffee and the saleswoman to drop the perfume...

...all over the front blouse of Sorano!

Very pissed of Sorano stood up trying to brush off the stench of "love" from herself but finding it futle. Turning around, ignoring the appoligies from the salewoman, she was about to storm off when she bumped into someone, almost crushing her nose into their chest!

Frowning she looked about about to give the person a piece of her mind but was caught off guard by a set of violet eyes staring back down at her. Blinking Sorano found herself without words and on top of that for some odd reason nervous!

"..Are you ok?" The man asked, pinning his nose due to the stench of the perfume.

"..y..yeah..." She stammered out not thinking.

"Good." Was all he said then leaving her there, heading passed her into the crowd dumbstruck at what had exactly happened.

Blinking a few more times she finaly realized what exactly had happened and turned bright red, quickly rushing home, not caring if she ran through the crowd now..most of them gave her room anyway due to the fact she smelt horrid.

All that was on her mind though was how stupid she felt. Like some school girl who bumped into some hot school hunk. She wasn't 16 anymore! She didn't want to deal with those situations. There had never been any situations to really deal with before though. Maybe that's why she sucked at the thing called love.

A few hours later (and much scrubbing plus she had to throw away that blouse) she sat on another fire excape looking down into the shadows that was an alleyway. The woman really wanted to have some sorta life other then work and fighting evil but as things set, without the help of the senshi, she had no time for anything else, much less that man that she had bumped into...him and his violet eyes just kept haunting her mind.

Shaking her head she began to trigger her transformation. There was another shadow demon down there and only herself to kill it. At least she had this to take her frustrations out.

Once her transformation was complete and the dizzienss/nausa passed she dove down there, this time there was no humans around so she could be as noisey as she wanted. Sorano could kick the creatures ass for even trying to find a victim! For causing her nights to be shot and herself to do this odd transformation.

Someone had to pay and with the senshi not there, it mine as well be the shadow demon.

This time she willed a rose to appear and threw it not the creature after sending it flying with a few good kicks. Those creatures never where much trouble to her, not in her angrey state as she was in. The creature hissed and died once the crystalized roses flew through and landed in the wall behind it, sticking as if it where made of clay. Walking over to the wall she touched the crysal roses and they seemed to melt into her fingers which also gave off a shimmer of crystal.

That's when her mind sensed another demon coming for her. It had been waiting in ambush. Sorano didn't have the time to turn around, much less call up another rose!

Feeling it's darkness wrap around her chest she tried to let a scream or shout out somehow but found her voice had no energy. Her eyes where drupping and she didn't seem to beable to stand anymore. This is what the shadow demons had power of. They where almost like vampires in that sense.

Trying to struggle she found her vision growing blurry and was about to give up hope when she felt the creature pull away from her, dropping her on the ground, her transformation already faded (when the shadow demon had surround her she had lost control of it) leaving her weak and also nausious. Her head turned toward the entrence of the alleyway Sorano was sure she saw a man's figure but as weak as she was, that's all she could make out. Her lack of energy overcame her and she passed out.

_A blue kingdom with Earth stood before her._

_A blaze of fire fed off of it._

_Then a feeling of shatters and pain surrounded her standing there in the water._

_That's when light began to surround her; red, orange, green, deep green, deep blue, baby blue, crimson red, violet, and white. _

_She was death and yet she was life..._

Jumping up, causing sheets and blankets around her to fly about. Blinking looking around the room Sorano realized she wasn't at her appartment. Actually the way the walls and the ceiling where and the mats on the floor she thought she was some temple. How the hell did she get here! Not only that was running through her mind, she wondered what the hell that dream was about!

Hearing a quiet patter of a pair of feet near the door across from her she looked up meeting a pair of violet eyes gazing down at her. It was the man she had run into in some temple garb, holding a tray of something in his hands.

"I see your awake." The man muttered, his voice of no emotion. It seemed almost icey cold. Sorano could swear that the room grew a few degrees colder when he had muttered. It made her want to shiver but this wasn't her place and she had no clue as to how she got to his house/temple.

"..yeah.." She muttered nervously dropping her eyes to the floor feeling those odd butterflies in her stomach again. Why the hell was she acting like a teenaged girl with this man!

She was so busy fighting with herself Sorano didn't notice the man kneel down beside her and pull a themometer from the tray and shove it in her mouth without much warning causing her to loose her thought process and turn her head toward the man again. He had tossed fine black hair that held a blue gleam in the light of the hallway. The man seemed really calm and collected, probably beause he was some temple priest or something.

A loud beep came from the thermometer and the man pulled it out looking at the tempature that it read.

"..What does it say?" She asked leaning toward the man who just shook it standing up.

"You're fine," He said leaving her in the room wondering what the hell was going on! This man seemed to frustrate her with the fact he didn't speak at all.

Removing the blankets from herself she continued to sit on the bed looking toward the door wondering what the hell he was doing now. Her eyes started to stray away from the door, looking in the room that she ws in. There wasn't much in the room, a closet, a small end table, and a few framed pictures on the wall.

Slowly Sorano stood up walking over toward a picture, still not leaving the room and looked at it. It was an older picture of six people and a baby. Must be some sorta family herlom, Sorano thought turning her head seeing a shadow in the doorway. It was the man again. His face still emotionless as he stared at her through the doorway without saying a word.

"..where did you find me?" Sorano finally got the courage to say looking at the man fully turned around toward him.

"In an alleyway," He stated taking a step in the room. "And you didn't have any identification on you. Did you have a purse or something?"

Sorano shook her head. She never went on those fights with identification just in case those mosters could read her ID and then attack her place of work or people she cared about but then again Sorano didn't have many friends and she could care less if her work got attacked. It just ment one free day off.

"..purses are a bother that time of night." Sorano said trying to make some sorta excuse why she wouldn't be walking around Crystal Tokyo without some identification. "I'm afraid of muggers anyway. If I'm not caring a purse then they have nothing visable to try and take."

He seemed to accept that as he turned his back toward her and waved his hand for her to follow him.

Walking behind him, he brought her to a gathering room. The place seemed really old, Sorano noted as she looked around the living quarters. It looked like something that came right out of the history books about before Crystal Tokyo and the big freeze before then. She noticed a small tea kettle and cups set on the table. That must have been what he was doing when he left her alone a few moments ago.

That's when Sorano started to grow nervous. She didn't consider herself very elegant when it came to such ceremonies and he seemed the picture of elegance. Just the way he moved even was very beautiful. Maybe that's why Sorano seemed to be tripping over herself when ever she saw him. Kneeling on the pillow across from him she watched him as he picked up the small little tea pot and poured tea in both the glasses. His face didn't change or waver as he did so.

"It's not polite to stare," He muttered causing the woman to loose her stance quickly looking away, blushing perfusly.

"I'm sorry..." Quickly she said bowing her head trying to apoligize. It was nerve racking being around this man! Ok so Sorano tended to be a bit anti-social but she had the ablitiy to funtion with other people pretty well!

That's when she heard something that threw her off completly..a light chuckle. Sorano turned her head to see the man sitting there laughing at her! He was laughing..at her! O god, could this get any worse! Sorano was inwordly freaking out due to this man and he was just laughing.

"..I'm sorry," He finally said after his light laughter had come to an end. "..your just really interesting to watch. I couldn't help myself."

The woman stopped freaking and blinked at him for a second. So he WAS human. That made her feel a whole lot better seeing some emotion on his features. She began to laugh at the whole situation. Normally she could keep her cool around people she didn't know but this was just totally wacked.

Her mind began to wander back to the alleyway as she sat there trying to drink her tea without making any sounds. She didn't need him laughing at her again.

...Sorano remembered the monster...and the energy..then the shadow of some man. Blinking she looked at the man across from her closely. Was he the one that appeared and saved her? There where stories of temple priests having some sorta power over evil spirits. If he was strong enough it would be a piece of cake to kill that creature. Maybe she could get some help in it, so she had some sorta life...not to mention grow closer to him.

...where did that thought come from!

That's when he began to chuckle again watching her.

"..Hino Ryu," The man had said setting his tea cup down.

"Huh?" Sorano blinked wondering what he was saying.

"..my name is Hino Ryu," He muttered dryly again.

"Ahhh! I'm Tsukino Sorano," Bowing her haid she said that.

"Tsukino?" The man known as Ryu said. Sorano nodded.

"Why? You know my grandparents or something?" She laughed.

"I don't think so, just the name sounds familiar, that's all," He said taking another sip of his tea. "..So how did you get in that alleyway? Do you remember?"

She was caught off guard by that question though she figured it probably would have came.

"I think it was muggers. I can't recall." She laughed nervously. "I was walking home from a club and the next thing I knew I was at your place." Now she really didn't want to be there, even though Hino-san was attractive. "How long have I been out?"

"..when I found you till now it's been about two hours." He said taking another sip.

"Ahh!" She said feeling the familiar monster vib. Why the hell couldn"t those monsters take a night off with everything. She was with a very handsome man enjoying herself. Shaking her head she just wanted to ignore it and continue to smile at him.

"...Is something wrong?" He asked breaking her thought process.

"..no..I just remembered...I've got something to do tonight," She lied standing up. "I'm really sorry for troubling you and thank you for helping me. Maybe I'll stop by tomorrow." Turning she rushed to the door grabbing her shoes and slipping them on.

Ryu stood up following her to the door confused as hell on why the woman was rushing out.

"Are you sure you know where your going?..At least let me call you a cab." But she was out the door before he could finish that. Somehow that woman seemed to make him loose his composure. He had noticed when she had bumped into him. Never had he asked anyone who bumpted into them if they where ok. Normally he glared at them and walked away.

Walking to the door Ryu sighed shaking his head and shutting the door once he didn't see her anymore.

Running down the alleyways toward the creature she triggered her transformation again, this time feeling the odd heart shaped wip appear in her hands. She really couldn't control her weapons all that much but she used what she was given throwing it toward the Shadow Demon who was attacking a couple.

The wip snapped through the creature causing it to die instantly. So she was good with this weapon, better then that cane and those blasted roses. Sometimes she'd transform and somehow she wouldn't have a weapon. Sorano didn't understand what she was suppose to do then. Her transformation in many ways was still a mystery to her.

Bending down she felt the pulse of the couple and picked one of them up. It was a trip to the hospital for them.

A lot of the time Sorano wished she was just a normal woman in a normal town with a normal life.

First of all welcome back to all the fans of the series! If your new then thanks for reading! There are a few things I want to clear up here (mainly the drastic differences between the two stories) since it is the first chapter of a rewrite. If you where a true fan to the first series I am sorry things have changed so drasticly but my intentions in the begining of the first story was to have this a bit darker. Somehow it lost it's darkness by the fifth chapter and became a bubbly new senshi story.

In the first story Sorano (named Shiera in the first one) was around 16. This story she is MUCH older as I have pointed out. She is 37 but doesn't look a day over 19. In the anime if I remember correctly when Serenity and Endymion took power their crystals (The Golden Crystal in the manga is Mamoru's crystal found in the SuperS books) caused all of Crystal Tokyo to have a much longer life span. Yes she is a very bitter woman now. Shiera was cold and shy but not as bitter in the other story.

I wanted this story darker then most of my stories, partly because I want to write a darker story, and partly because the main character is about because of death. For you readers of the original you understand that comment but the new readers I'm leaving that as it's worded not to give away what exactly Sorano is. As dark as I wanted it the crystal's destiny the way it had been written was to happy. To happy to fast.

Also more then likely I will not be having to much with the senshi's children (unlike before) because in the manga Chibi-Usa's court was to be the Amazon Quartete. At least the senshi's children not senshi themselves. There isn't much out there about the senshi's place in crystal tokyo and their supposed children's place. It's all assumed that since Chibi-usa will inherit the moon thrown so with the senshi's children and be her court. For some reason unknown to us because the all mighty N.T. decided not to explain there is nothing about the court senshi's children. And since i'm trying to be as close to the series as possible the only court chibi-usa will indeed have will be the amazon quartet (if indeed chibi-usa had senshi of the planets she would have brought them with her when she came back in the Stars arc of the manga with the quartet). It's to early to say if I'm gonna bring in any of the other senshi's children as main characters/side characters besides Rei's son. I don't want to many made up characters anyway. The way I see things is if you bog down the story of sailor moon with 15 original characters, all main characters more so then the originals, you loose the sailormoon feel to the story.

If you have any questions and comments please leave them in the reviews (or email me with the topic as "On I tend to not open emails from people who just have a topic of "Hi" or no topic at all if I don't know you). If you wish to flame please explain why in your flame. I'm always trying to improve.

And before I confuse you enough this is a mixture of the anime and manga (though it'll probably be more of the manga but there is one key thing in this story that is only from the anime, you'll see later on though).

Please review before you go and as always thanks for taking the time to read one of my stories!


	2. Chapter 2

_Satan, you now where I lye_

_Gently I go into thy good night_

The DuCaine Legacy

by Candy aka solarsun

Chapter 1: Pain

For the first time in a month, it was a good dream. A nice dream of back when he could goof off and hang with his two pals Mookie and Thrash. They had been smiling and laughing talking about one of the many comic books that they where reading at the moment, enjoying being young on a carefree summer afternoon around Aneheim. Then the door swong open and Wildwing, gold mask and everything, walked in smiling at him, telling him that Phill had some big thing planned and that if he didn't leave with him now they wouldn't make it in time.

It was almost like Wildwing was standing right there. It felt so real. Mookie and Thrash too. Their smiling faces behind those piercings and tatoos telling him that they'd be there when he got back.

..but that was a lie, wasn't it? They had lied that day way back when. Wing had lied too, when he ran after the shadow. Why did they have to lie to him! He wasn't a kid anymore.

Tossing and turning Nosedive awoke from his dream, partally from the fact his dream was going south, and partally from the commuicator beeping on his night stand. Sitting up, Dive reached over picking it up and opening it, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes seeing Tanya there looking all worried.

"Yo, what's up Tanny?" He mumbled calling her his old pet name he had given her so long ago.

"There's an attack on a weapons shop down on main." She said hurried, her head turned, probably doing something else. Nosedive knew she probably was watching the attack, though it made him wonder how Tanya was there already.

"I'll be right there," He yawned slipping out of his bed and walking over to the bathroom, turning on the light. Dive's PJ's consisted of boxers and a loose fitting tank top.

Looking up at the clock it was about Two am. One hand opened his cabnet, the other turning on the cold water. Pulling out his perscription he dug a pill out of the thin bottle and tossed it in his beak, then bending down slurping the water up from the focet swallowing it all. Sighing, squeezing his eyes shut, Dive took both his hands and splashed his face a few times with the water trying to wake himself up...

...and also to try and hide the fact he had been crying in his sleep. Sometimes he just wished that his dreams would stick to nightmares. At least those he could blow off a bit more then his happy ones. The happy ones reminded him of what he had lost. Dive was reminded every day of what he had lost, he didn't need some damn dream reminding him in his sleep as well.

Turning he went to quickly dress and grab his gun.

"Shit!" Nosedive yelled taking cover behind a smoldering car. Who the hell would sell grenades at a NORMAL weapons shop! They couldn't even get close! Every time someone would try and charge, one of the humans would just throw a grenade out from the store. So there had to be a better way.

"..The sewer!" Mallory yelled toward him. "I'm sure there is some sorta drain under that building we can use!"

Nosedive nodded looking ahead seeing a manhole not to far from where he was standing. Quickly without saying anything else he took off toward it, Mallory instantly understanding and gave him cover.

Grin was already there, prying the manhole open for him and Dive jumped down, one of his hands grabbing onto an old ladder bar stopping him from falling completely.

Reaching in his pocket, he pulled out a small flashlight and shinned it down to see where the floor was. It was only three feet below him so he just dropped down, shinning the light around trying to get some sense as where to head. His team above couldn't handle much more of that fire power. Most of the cars they had been using for shields where blown up.

That's when his communicator beeped. Reaching down he opened it seeing Tanya.

"..Uploading the map of the sewer layout in this area now..." She mumbled as his communicator beeped again, a green map taking up most of the screen now. There was a flashing area that was him and a star of where he should be heading.

"Thanks Tanny." Dive said shining his flashlight in the correct direction.

"..I'll have Mallory come with you," Tanya started.

"Don't." Nosedive muttered. "You guys need all the firepower you can get up there...besides," He took a deep breath forcing a laugh out. "I don't think Mal-mal could fit down the manhole. She's been gaining a few extra pounds as of late."

"I'm going to kill him!" He over heard on Tanya's communcator. "If he doesn't die doing a stupid stunt like that, I'm going to kill him when he returns!"

Nosedive just shook his head and quickly ran down the sewer, trying to ignore the smell and how slippery it was under his feet.

Tanya looked up from her communicator worried at Mallory and shrugged. If Nosedive thought he could handle it on his one, why was she to complain?

"Keep them destracted!" Tanya then yelled over the police cars that where now blaring behind them. Things blowing up around a gun shop got noticed pretty easily. That and she had called them after the ducks. They needed all the help they could get with these idiots.

Pointing her left hand out it began to move and take the form of a plasma gun, glowing as she willed it to fire, her other hand crossing over her chest, trying to steady it as it powered up...

Hoping up, slowly Dive pulled himself out of the sewer, into a small back room of the weapons shop. Nobody had yet noticed that he had disappeared from the way they where talking outside the door. It seemed that Tanya had used her kick ass gun, blowing a hole in the side of the building. He could hear hurried footsteps outside the door.

Hoping up, he pulled his gun back out and walked over the door, cracking it up to see what they where truely up against. There where three people he could see, and one of them had two grenades in his hands.He'd have to shoot to kill with that one, the other two though both had guns, and where firing them. He'd have to wait till at least one of them was reloading.

Actually both of the men stopped at the same time, giving Dive a perfect window. Quickly he pulled down an odd propane tank next to him and kicked it out of the door, coming in behind it, shooting the one with grenades in his hands, squarly between the eyes. The other two where scrambling away trying to take cover wondering what the hell had just happened.

Smirking he sent the other two to hell with their friend. Turning his head he noticed two very angrey men running toward Dive. Quickly picking up one of the grenades he pulled the pin out with his beak and tossed it in front of him, quickly turning around and back into the door, diving into the grate and running for dear life. With that propane tank there, that store front was bound to explode!

"Tanny, Mal-mal, Grin get everyone AWAY from the store front!" Dive yelled into his communicator. Quickly he jumped up the ladder that he had came down with and just as he was about to peak his head above the ground, the whole store exploded! Dive ended up falling back into the sewer, ruining his good jacket, pants, and everything he really was wearing.

"..Shit..." Dive hissed shakign his arms off and slowly making his way back up to see the damage he had caused.

The store was gone...and so was half of the buildings next to it.

"..woops..." Dive blinked sitting on the street, legs still hanging in the manhole.

"Woops! WOOPS!" He heard Mallory's voice behind him yelling, then felt a good kick between his shoulder blades as he fell back into the manhole again. "That'll teach you...calling me fat..." She hissed turning away walking past Tanya who just sighed shaking her head as Nosdive came out of the manhole for a second time. She would have offered a hand..but..well he reaked all the way over where she was standing.

He was laughing at least.

"Miss Tanya?" A police officer called to her. Turning she began to walk over toward the captine to explain what had exactly happened. Of course every big city in the United States knew of Dragonuas now and most of them where fully cooperative with thim in the hunt for him. None of them wanted the saurian overlord taking over their city.

Sighing Dive got up completely and waved at the police, who had seen him fall and waved back. He need a shower, a new jacket, pants, hell he needed something new of everything he was wearing at that moment. Turning his head he saw Tanya talking with the police and decided to let her deal with them. Right now he just wanted to go shower and sleep. Nothing else he really felt like doing.

Maybe when he woke up later something would inspire him, but for right now all he could think about was the looks the humans gave him before his bullet landed on target, killing them instantly.

He wished things didn't have to be this way. Out of all of the ducks in the beginning, he had been the one to like them first. Now he was killing them, most of them where probably innocent, just lead astray.

Not only was he scarred up, mentally and phsycial, he had innocent human blood on his hands. And it didn't seem to want to wash away very easly. Probably because he wasn't scrubbing it very hard.

Most of the ducks had day jobs, that of course had special leway that if there was attack they could leave pretty easily. Tanya of course was a visiting scientist at a local labratory, that was an easy job for her to get. Grin was doing an inner peace seminar at this city. Mallory worked as a self defence coach at a local YMCA. He, well he didn't get the glamorous jobs like they did. It might because unless he was around the team he didn't try to be cheerful anymore. Most people didn't want a grumpy alien duck working for them.

So he was the head of security for some big company, that Dive really didn't even know the name of. There where offices in every big city too so travel was easy for him. Plus he had an appartment waiting for him in every city at least.

At times he wished he could leave this war and run off. But even when Duke left Dive was sure he was still fighting for them somewhere else. Dive just wanted to run away, from everything.

Sometimes he felt like he was falling.

Trying to grab something, anything.

At times when the war had started he'd feel that way

But Wing had always been there to catch him.

Nosedive walked out of the shower and rubbed one of his eyes with the back of his hand.

Tears began to welt up in his eyes again. Walking over to his couch he sat on it, hunched over, his face buried in his hands as much as they could be as sobs rocked through is body.

Why the hell was he still doing this!

Dive didn't quite understand himself anymore. The man staring back at him in a mirror was a far cry from the teenager smiling happily on the one photograph he still had with everyone on his dresser. The man in the mirror was a very bitter, depressed, hopeless duck. That always seemed to have rings under his eyes, probably due to the fact he could never sleep. The prosac didn't seem to be helping at all, probably a fact that he was a duck, and not a human.

..All he wanted was for things to be the same again before the saurians, on Puckworld. Sure his parents had their problems there but at least they where there for him!

Rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands he took a deep breath.

Nobody was here for him anymore. So why was he still trying to win this war? Probably to try and grasp at something the old Dive would do in a heart beat. Trying to keep, maybe just a tiny fraction, of himself as he used to be.

Turning his head he reached out and picked up a picture of Wildwing and himself, after a game taken by one of their old fans who had sent it to them after the team had been sold. Before everything changed.

Taking a deep breath he set it back down. His true reason for still fighting was obvious.

Revenge.

Dragonuas would pay with his life for the hell he had caused. Where all saurian's like this? Did they always try and take over Puckworld? Compared to Earth, his home planet was cold, and frozen. Earth was a much better place to try and take over, and Dive figured after the saurian saw how different the two planets where that he'd try and take over Earth anyday before he'd try and take over Puckworld again. If the saurian would ever try and take over Puckworld again...that's if everything ended up bad and they all where dead.

At least he would get his revenge and he'd get revenge for Canard as well. That's what his brother was trying to do after all, that and protect the team. He had died for them.

Shit not again...

Reaching up he quickly rubbed the tears away. Why the hell was he crying at the drop of a coin lately?

Taking a deep breath Nosedive turned his head to see the sun rise. Maybe he should try and go back to sleep. When he woke up he could at least go shopping. That would take his mind off of things. Besides he needed a new coat from what had happened during the battle a few hours ago.

Yawning he stood up and headed back into his room, glancing at the picture on his dresser for a moment. Then crawling back into bed. Maybe he would dream a nightmare. At least then he can sleep.

Leaning on her arm, her hand picked at the keys in front of her. Mallory was looking up who had posted they would be in her class that night very slowly. Computers hadn't been her strong suit. Tanya had once offered to help her with just basic things that deal with a computer but Mallory had declined the offer at the time figuring they'd always be fighting Dragonuas like they had been and playing hockey as a semi cover. There was no need for computers in that time.

Now.

Well now she was working like a regular human, though the United States did give them money to live off of, the team that was left knew that it wouldn't be enough. They needed better weapons, better training, better armor. Something the United States wasn't paying for, nor Mallory didn't even want them to pay for. If they payed for their weapons, and armor it would be cheap. Tanya with a bit of work at her job could come up with stuff that was ten times better and cheaper. Not to mention Tanya would then hold the patent on it and could make money selling the stuff.

Mallory knew how lucky she was to have a friend and team mate like Tanya. If it wasn't for her, Mallory would still look horribly disfigured. Though she still couldn't grow feathers or hair, Tanya had made the next best thing for her and nobody around her even knew she had a giant bald spot except for the ducks and that's how Mallory wanted it to be. She didn't need her co workers looking at her with pity every day...

...sorta like how Duke had.

Frowning, she had stopped typing and leaned back thinking about the ex-thief. It wasn't his fault at all what had happened, but he had been the closest to her when it did happen. That's how he came to blame himself. She just hoped he was ok, and fighting Dragonuas and kicking some ass.

Smirking she chuckled a bit thinking about the gray duck. Everyday she hoped he'd return to them and everything would be as normal as it could be.

"Miss Mallory?" A voice butted in. Glancing up she noticed one of the other instructors standing outside her office door. "Just making sure you where back in the land of the living." She giggled continuing to walk past her door.

Mallory smirked shaking her head. Duke would be back with them in no time, she was sure of that. It had to be that way.

Didn't he love her after all? Mallory chuckled a little. Never had she thought she'd even think those words and now here it was, and it sounded natural actually. Though Mallory wondered when Duke's feelings had grown. Shrugging she figured she'd ask him when he returned.

That was something to look forward to.

Her mind wondered to their semi-leader now, Nosedive. That was also something she'd never thought she'd see the day off, but when Wildwing disappeared everyone seemed to look toward the teenager. He was the least changed out of all of them. Maybe it was the stablity he shown that they clung to.

Her eyes gazed downword thinking about the blonde goofball. She was sure that Dive didn't really want to be leader, but neither did Wildwing when he was thrown in the situation. The blonde duck hadn't yet put the mask on . She wondered absently if that ment anything or of he had just lost the mask. It didn't much matter anyway how Dragonuas was fighting as of late. It seemed it was always blatent and explosive.

Though something seemed to worry Mallory thinking about Nosedive as of late. Sure, she knew that he wasn't quite the same Dive that tagged along during their first mission, but his eyes. At times they seemed almost absent, cold, frozen. Almost pleading as he told her she looked fat, or if she screamed any louder at him that she'd wake the dead. Shaking that thought off Mallory told herself that if Dive was really in that much pain, he still had the team to talk to. They'd all listen to him. Even though he was the leader, and six years older, an adult in many aspects in the way he talked, walked, and moved, all the team tended to see him as that same sixteen year old. An odd sixteen year old that seemed to have been born with a gun in hand at how well he could shoot.

Mallory frowned looking at the time. She wasn't going to get anything done today. Standing up she walked out of her office. There was other things she could be doing anyway.

"Breath deep," His simple words instilled a quiet and calmness that marveled the first time students. Even though the duck was ten feet tall nobody felt threatened. Nobody thought he would hurt even a fly. Most of the children would even play with the large duck while waiting for class to start. In his classroom nobody could believe that he was a crime fighter and that there was indeed some evil monster hiding somewhere wanting to take over the world.

But there was a lot Grin still had to overcome. Mainly his eyesight. Everyone in the class understood what had happened and had accepted why he wore it and what the goggles looked like but it didn't make anything better. Part of the calm big duck he wished either he could get used to being blind, or Tanya create him better eyes. He knew that he was relying to much on the scientist who was trying to help him as much as she could and as fast as she could. There was never enough thank yous for her for what she had at least done for him. What she had done for the whole team. If she could help she did. But there where some things that a scalple and mechinery couldn't fix alone.

That's where inner peace came in. If you couldn't be happy by yourself, how could you find peace with what was going on around you? Grin as of late was struggling a bit in that department but he knew it would take time before he'd accept everything as it had happened. He had to be a strong sturdy part of the team. At least for their leader who still didn't seem to be grasping it totally.

He had tried to be their leader, and in a war, not everything could be settled peacefully. Sitting and trying to find a salution to a problem sometimes was worse then not acting. That's why he denyed the mask when Tanya had asked him to be their leader. The only one of them four who could fill Wildwings shoes was Nosedive, and not just because he was his younger brother but because he new how to think.

Look at early this morning. No civilians had been hurt. Dive had single handledly swayed the battle, with their help of course, and there wasn't an injury on the team. If the little man could just be a strong leader like that all the time, then they would defeat Dragonuas, and find their way home.

Home. Now that brought peace to his heart.

"Relax little one," He said kneeling down at a young child who was trying to do what was done in the class. The child seemed to look up at him.

Smiling he ruffled his hair and continued down. He'd do it again, if it was to save a single innocent life. He was getting along with what Tanya gave him well anyway.

Rubbing her brow with her sleeve, Tanya continued to concentrate on the final upgrade on her arm. It would make wireless connections to computers, internet, phones, a whole lot easier.

"Do you need any help?" One of her assistants asked as she quickly shook her head. All she needed was to spot weld it and it would be done. Turning and with her right hand she took a small welder that she had had brought up from the storage room. It was only a few more seconds...

Done!

Smiling Tanya gazed down at her weld and felt proud. Not only did it look nicer, she was able to get rid of a lot of the cords which ment it was smaller then before..and

...and she could use the same tecnolagy she had made for Mallory to cover the hand in synthetic feathers, so unless you knew her hand was gone, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Tanya had never been a vaine duck. Duke had been more vaine then her when the team had been whole. As whole as they where on Earth after loosing Canard but she wanted her bio hand to look like a real hand. When her first hand was created it was out of nessessity, not for beauty. To work on future projects she would need both hands, it was a given and with the way the war was going she would have future projects to make.

Speaking of a project...

"Hey Dan! Did that part come in the mail yet?" She yelled snapping her bio hand back onto it's base she had attatched to her left arm so it would move and sit like a regular hand.

"..Yes it did, just now." He yelled back from somewhere behind a case. Tanya began to smile uncontrolably. If her calculations where right...which they where rarely off...

..at least she had that to look forward to.

"We need to install it!" Tanya yelled back picking up an odd tub of liquid. Moving her left hand she sighed. Sythetic feathers in it's true natural form was liquid. It attaches to something and drys as feathers, the color depending on what chemicals you added to the batch. It was to hot in it's natural form just to pore on Mallory's side. Tanya was still trying to correct that. So Mallory would have it it directly on her bare skin, instead of a cloth.

Moving her left hand over the batch she dipped it in, feeling the connection between her arm and hand instantly warm up. Pulling it out quickly the scientist duck watched as it dried quickly...to a feathery look.

Success!

Moving her hand around she noticed how it moved naturally with the arm. Tanya would definitly have to celebrate tonight about this bragging to one of her team mates.

"Are you ready Miss Tanya to install that in that machine?" Dan then called to her.

"Yeah. Do you got the tools?"

"Their right here..."

Cinder and ash trailed behind the beast as he moved through the hallway.

"What the hell happened to the attack this morning!" The creature sneered at one of the humans who was now cowarding in front of him.

"...the ducks somehow blew our forces up." The human almost squeeked out visably shaking now at the creature who stood before her, smoke coming out of it's large nostrils, anger flaring out of it's eyes. The human hoped to god that if the creature decided to kill him, it would be at least painless.

"Fuck!" The creature turned. "It's been four fucking years since this new stratagy change has happened, and what the fuck do we have to show for it! Not a thing! Not a fucking thing." Sneering her stormed out of the one room, back into the hallway. At times he missed how big the ship had been, but he knew, and so did the other three saurians that if they where going to truely change tactics, they couldn't be trying to hide that ship anymore. It was to much of a waist of time. The ducks couldn't do anything with the ship anyway, he made sure of that.

Shaking his head he continued to walk down the hallway, toward the basement of the building. His bad mood was cramping his thought process. It was time to go let a little steam off.

After all, a war wouldn't be war without at least a prisonor to tourcher and destroy.

(authors notes)

Yes Dragonuas has a swearing problem. :P So it seems does Nosedive. huggles her nosedive action figure she's had for many many years It's alright Nosedive! I will try and make it better...

Nosedive action figure: Can't...breath...dies

Yeah I know in the original that Miya was already in the series by this time. But things change and when I try and write well stories get longer! yay for longer stories! When the DuCaine Legacy stopped getting new chapters, it was 150kb and 15 chapters long. In only two chapters I'm at 40kb with this rewrite. I want this story to be long, with a very defined ending and maybe a sequal after it all, but that won't be a while. Look at my other long story:The Mars Saga. It's at 700+ kb and still got chapters to go! My dream is to write something that's at least 1Mb! OO. Though it might not be the mars saga and it might not be this one, but one day I will write an awesome story that takes up a megabyte!

Anyway the song that sorta inspired this all is called "Innocent" by Fuel (what's at the top of the story in italics, it's not that short though). I love this song. And it sorta is on the soundtrack for this series, if this series had a soundtrack of course. Maybe in other chapters I'll add to the "Soundtrack". Before you go please review and as always thanks for taking the time to read one of my stories.


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